Clarkson's Farm is back, with former Grand Tour star Jeremy Clarkson taking the reins of Diddly Squat Farm in Chipping Norton. The land, which he purchased years ago, is managed with the assistance of land agent Charlie Ireland.
In the series, Charlie Ireland is affectionately referred to as 'Cheerful Charlie', a moniker that plays on his seemingly low spirits, much to Clarkson's amusement. As a land agent, Charlie provides Clarkson with guidance on crop planting and harvesting schedules, as well as budgeting for the farming year.
With a wealth of experience under his belt, Charlie often finds himself delivering unfortunate news when Clarkson makes a misstep, such as when he accused Clarkson of damaging soil while attempting to establish a conservation area.
Charlie also serves as a voice of reason for Clarkson, demonstrating the necessity of time and effort to achieve successful results.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Charlie previously worked as a land agent for Strutt and Parker from August 2000 until March 2021.
As of April 2021, he has taken up a new role as managing partner at Ceres Rural, a company that offers "offering smart business solutions for progressive farmers, landowners and rural economy, guided by science and independent advice."
The company's profile states: "Ceres Rural covers a broad range of rural specialisms, from everyday services like farm management, to niche advice like biodiversity offsetting.
"Our advice is 100% independent, we adopt a flexible and experience-led approach, providing advice guided by science, to deliver measurable and meaningful results."
Charlie, an expert in farm management and strategic planning, shared his enthusiasm for implementing strategies: "Implementing the plan is the exciting part of the job.
"The ultimate goal is to make a real difference to the future of a business."
Working with Jeremy on Clarkson's Farm has given Charlie insights into his dogged determination and innate drive, especially regarding the opening of a new pub.
Speaking to GB News, he said: "There's no beating him down. It's a case of channelling his enthusiasm more than guidance. His creativity and inventiveness are brilliant."
Acknowledging Jeremy's growing farming skills, particularly with pigs, Ireland admitted, "His technical farming ability is slowly developing, and he's very good at pig farming," adding, "I think he does enjoy that in particular."
Charlie concluded with a key observation: "There's a lesson: if you really like something, you'll tend to probably be quite good at it."
Clarkon's Farm is on Amazon Prime Video